A Great Day For Melissa K

 Having been a news photographer for so long, its nice to have another outlet for my creative juices.  That’s what Riverside Magazine provides me.  I get to shoot
fun, creative, and colorful work on a deadline that has some breathing room. 

I’ve always been interested in studio lighting and on-location lighting.  And when I got approached to do the Feb-March cover for the magazine, I jumped at the chance.

My subject was 20-year-old singer-songwriter Melissa Kirk.  Having a healthy local fan base, and local critical accolades, she and her band are on the brink of national attention.  My directives were to get something sultry and sexy in a Scarlett Johansson kind of way.  Check!

A magazine cover shoot offers different considerations not found in newspaper cover shoot.

First of all, you have more time.  Secondly, your image reproduces better.  And thirdly, your great A1 photo will be out of the minds of most readers in a day.  At least the magazine image may last a little longer.

This girl doesn't take a bad picture.

The shoot for Miss Kirk began the prior week over lunch with her manager and father Michael Kirk.  Given the directives for the shoot, I felt it best to out the expectations for the shoot over lunch.  I always like to get to know my subject a little bit whenever I can.  After bonding on 70’s rock music with dad, we talked about all of our respective careers.  I ultimately let Melissa know we would be doing whatever she was comfortable with.  I like my portrait subjects to know that while its their image, we build the picture together.

The morning began about 9am with a shopping trip to the store for some snacks and to the mall for some last minute costume jewelry.  The editors wanted a subtle Valentines themed palette for the photo.  Hence, I was in search for red accent pieces. 

Make-up artist Christina Gaudy arrived an hour before shooting time and worked on Melissa for about 45 minutes.  I ran test shots with assistant for the day and fellow photographer Micah Escamilla.  Finally it was time to get started.

Christina Gaudy goes to work.

Melissa K's mom can say, "I knew her when

Like most of my other portraits, the set-up takes the longest time.  This was no exception. Like-wise, the studio portrait is an end result of the willingness of the subject and the preparation of the photographer.  We had the make-up, the rock music on the boom box, and we had the girl.  Melissa took to the task at hand like a professional, providing a variety of expressions that made shooting easy.

The challenge of a shoot like this is exploring all your ideas in the time frame you have. Two or three hours seems like a long time at first.  But between make-up breaks, costume changes, and changing the light set-up, it all goes by very fast.  Time becomes your ally in decision making and helps to keep the shoot moving.  The process allows you to choose between good ideas and the best ideas.  And yet, you will still get those unexpected photographic moments that will end up in your final edit. 

Technically speaking, I used a white paper backdrop lit by two Norman lamp heads for the background. Melissa was lit by two lamps with umbrellas, and a red gel on one side to give her a little bit of heat factor.  We ran the gamut of moods and expressions from sultry and sexy to fun and playful. What the editors want to see is lots of options and Melissa and I certainly provided that.

Magazine work provides a nice departure from what I do for the paper.  Instead of having a security guard tell me, “You can’t come in here”, I get to deal with a mom telling her daughter, “Ask the photographer if this is TOO much cleavage.”  And, instead of a breaking news situation where my parameters are dictated by a scene unfolding, I get to work in an environment where I am in control.

This one was too sexy to print.

 After about 100 laughs, and 12 GB of images we finished the shoot just under three hours.  I think spending some time with Melissa and her dad over lunch helped tremendously.  Having mom present during the shoot pretty much made the whole thing a family affair.  Those were the little things that helped relax Melissa in what was her first magazine shoot and provide me with the most natural pictures.

In the end it was a great day for Melissa K.

And I was just happy to be along for the ride.

A view of the final cover shot!